Celebrate Bollywood With Cocktails Inspired By Classics
If you are having a party with a Bollywood theme, you must have cocktails inspired by Bollywood classics! Here are some amazing drinks which raise a toast to Bollywood classics.
Sholay
A Bollywood classic remembered for its roughneck characters and street-smart quips in dialogues is an unmatchable film. Here's a cocktail that captures the fiery vibe of the beloved film.
Ingredients
60 ml McDowell's No.1 whisky
20 ml Lime juice
100 ml Hot Apple juice
1 cinnamon
3 cloves
Apple slices, for garnish
Method
For hot apple juice:
Use a store-bought apple juice and heat it on the stove till the juice is hot enough. Do not let it simmer or boil.
For the cocktail:
Take a highball glass and pour whisky and lime juice into it. Burn the cloves with a blowtorch for 5 seconds, extinguish the flame and immediately add it into the glass. Take the cinnamon and burn it from one side using a blowtorch for 5 seconds. Mix well. Put out the flame and add it immediately to the glass. Stir well. Pour the hot apple juice. Garnish by arranging apple slices on a cocktail stick.
Optional: To add the Sholay, i.e. flames literally in the cocktail. Take a small steel plate, add zippo fuel to it and light it. Keep the plate next to the cocktail glass and serve them together.
Anarkali
This character from one of the Bollywood epics has had a major impact on Indian culture be it fashion or literature. No wonder Bollywood recycles the story, the character, and the name often. And now Anarkali inspired a cocktail as well!
Ingredients
60 ml Tanqueray
8-10 nos White grapes
1 Strip of Ginger
10 ml Sugar Syrup
White grape, for garnish
Orange peel, for garnish
Method
Take a shaker and add grapes, orange peel and ginger in it. Muddle them gently. Add the rest of the ingredients into the shaker with lots of ice. Shake well. Strain the contents into a cocktail glass. Garnish using orange peel and a white grape.
Laila
The eternal love story of Laila and Majnu has inspired many a Bollywood film. And it has evoked a lovely concoction from mixologists. Presenting the delectable cocktail Laila.
Ingredients
30 ml Raspberry vodka
2 nos Strawberries
1 no Lime wedge
4 nos Blueberries
A dash of Mango puree
3 nos Blueberries, for garnish
Method
Take a cocktail shaker and muddle the lime wedges, strawberries, blueberries and two dashes of mango purée. Pour the vodka and add some ice cubes. Shake vigorously. Double strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with the blueberries on a cocktail stick.
Dum Maaro Dum
One of the most iconic Bollywood songs that captured the Hippie culture has inspired a cocktail! Check out its 'smoky' recipe below.
Ingredients
45 ml Smirnoff vodka
30 ml Pineapple juice
30 ml Cranberry juice
10 ml Lime juice
10 ml Sugar syrup
Method
Take a shaker and add all the ingredients into it. Shake well and then pour the contents into a bong glass. Garnish with smoke or a cube of ice.
Genda Phool
Genda Phool (marigold) is an intrinsic part of Indian culture and has been showcased in Bollywood films. There are at least two popular songs named after the flower in the recent past. Here's a cocktail that actually uses marigold as an ingredient!
Ingredients
60 ml Tanqueray
6 pieces Orange marigold flower
15 ml Lime Juice
20 ml Sugar Syrup
100 gms Ice
Method
First, muddle the marigold in a shaker well. Add the other ingredients and shake well. Double strain in a hurricane glass with ice. Garnish with a marigold flower.
While it's great to learn about making cocktails and alcoholic beverages, it is important to consume alcohol moderately. Remember to serve and drink responsibly to ensure you and your guests are healthy and out of harm's way. If you know anyone who has trouble controlling their alcohol intake, please refer them to a professional immediately.
